On the treadmill what are the advantages of running vs a brisk walk?

Question

I am 52 years old. I have lost 20 pounds in about 20 weeks following the weight watchers program. I still have about 30 pounds more to lose. A few weeks ago I started exercising. I am doing it to help my weight loss but also to increase my muscle and bone density as well as strengthen my heart. So far on the treadmill I have only been walking. I am up to about 4 mph. I am nervous about running because I do not know "how" to do it and think I will look stupid or fall off the teadmill. Any advice for me?
Thanks
Mary Ellen

Scott F--

Thank you for a very thorough and helpful answer. I have a few more questions for you. The first week I did the treadmill I was only going about 3 mph and my heart rate was about 110. Now that I am going 4 mph it gets up to about 130. It sounds like I need to push harder, at least in small bursts, to get it up higher.

You mentioned working out the upper body. I have been doing the fit linxx curcuit training www.fitlinxx.com but I was doing it before the treadmill because I thought I would be too tired afterwards. I will try it before hand. I am doing extra sets on the upper body machines since I already get the other exercise with my legs.

I am working out at the YMCA so they have a large selection of machines and it is a new facility with good equipment. Once I get myself in better shape I want to do a spinning class. Which machine would be most helpful to prepare myself for that?

Answer 1

Just start little by little, maybe instead of running fully on, put your treadmill on an incline and walk briskly or jog. I feel the same way about running in a public sporting facility because it's easy to lose balance on the treadmill, but as long as you pace yourself you can work up to that level in which you run.

Answer 2

Even walking will help with weight loss. By the way, I am 52 (female) too and have lost 39 pounds since April. I'm on The G. I. Diet (by Rick Gallop).

We use the treadmill for the same reasons as you. If it is an electric one there sholud be a way to increase the incline (1 - 10 percent on most of them). If you vary your speeds and the rate of incline you help yourself more than contstantly running. Try 1 minute bursts of running at 4.5 mph. I use my treadmill for 48 minutes at a time and keep the incline to at least 2 per cent and up to 6 percent at 2.9 mph for ten minutes at a time. This will keep your heart rate where it should be and also will burn more fat than if you just walk at level, or run for that matter.

Answer 3

As far as burning calories goes, there's no real advantage of running as opposed to walking. Per distance travelled, you burn the same number of calories in both cases. It's just when you run, you burn them much more quickly.

Running is a better exercise when it comes to conditioning your cardio-vascular system (heart and lungs) and developing leg muscles. However, running is a high impact exercise so there are inherent risks associated with it, such as knee pain, sprains and sore muscles. If you're over 50, it may be wiser to stick with walking.

Having said that, if you really want to learn how to run, I would suggest not doing it on a treadmill (which can be dangerous if you fall off) but outside. Check out this site for new runners:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/index.shtml

Answer 4

First off, congratulations on the loss!

I'll give you my three exercise rules for people our age (I'm 50):

1. Don't drop dead.
2. Keep coming back.
3. Do a little more each time.

Moving from a brisk walk (and 4 mph is pretty quick!) to a run is one way to keep the faith with rule #3, but there are risks -- not the least of which being that 50-year-old knees don't take to shocks and impact as well as 20-year-old knees used to.

For the reasons you're exercising, you can fulfill rule #3 (without breaking rule #1 :-) by either working out longer on the treadmill, or by cranking up the incline level.

Here's a way to measure your heart's health: If your treadmill has a pulse readout, keep track of three things:

1 - From the time you start walking, how long does it take you to get up to your target heart rate (which should be about 135-140 for people our age)? The longer it takes, the healthier your heart is. It takes me almost 7 minutes now to get "up to speed," so it's clearly time for me to crank up the resistance a level or two -- it used to take me two or three.

2 - Once you reach your target rate, how long are you at or above that rate? That's where you're doing yourself some good, so you want to maximize the time spent there. You want to manage your pace and resistance to keep your heart rate over the target without getting too high and stressing it excessively. But the more you exercise, the more effort you need to get TO this rate and to KEEP it there (that's what rule #3 is all about). So you raise the resistance or the speed to keep yourself in this target zone. (Which is why you may eventually want to start running on the treadmill.)

3 - As you near the end of your workout, how quickly does your heart rate drop when you slow down? (NEVER stop immediately -- always slow down gradually, I'll explain why later.) The idea is that a healthy heart (and cardiovascular system) recovers more quickly after exertion, so you want to see how long it takes you to drop from your maximum heart rate -- how many minutes to a 10% drop, how long to 15%, etc. I stay on the ellipticals till my heart rate has dropped 20% from the maximum, then I go do the rest of my workout.

Now, why don't you just flop down and rest after a hard workout? Because the heart can squeeze blood OUT a lot more effectively than it can draw it back IN. So to help get blood back to the heart, many veins in the body have little valves that keep the blood flowing in the right direction when the muscles around those veins contract (like, say, when you're walking or running). In particular, the veins in the legs bear a large responsibility for getting the blood back out of your feet and legs and up to your chest, where the heart can get it out to the lungs and then the rest of your body.

If you are walking 4 mph and your heart is cranking along at 150-160 beats per minute and you suddenly stop moving your legs... suddenly your heart can't get enough blood because it's not being pumped by your legs. Not a good thing if, like me, you're convinced in the importance of Rule #1 (Don't Drop Dead).

So you ALWAYS want to slow down gradually, letting your heart rate drop by at least 20% or more, and even then, it's a good idea to keep standing and moving slowly till you're breathing normally.

Now, given that background information, you should see why running is a logical next step -- it increases the load on your muscles and your heart -- but also why it's not the ONLY next step. You can increase the resistance on the treadmill or increase the amount of time and still satisfy rule #3 (do a little more each time).

If you're working out at a gym or health club (and I suspect you are; if you are working out at home, who cares what you look like when you run?), they will almost certainly have a personal trainer who can work with you to show you the right way to run on a treadmill, and perhaps show you some other exercise equipment that may do an even better job for you. For example, I really prefer the elliptical cross-trainers, because I feel they do a more complete job of exercising more of my body, while at the same time they don't involve any impact on my knees. (Middle-aged knees plus middle-aged potbelly equals sensitivity to jumping and running...) And I also do weight training for my upper body, using light to moderate weight but lots of repetitions; if you're not already doing something like that, talk with your doctor and/or your trainer about some good exercises to start with. After half an hour of cardio, doing quick upper-body exercises will keep your heart pumping longer, and if you're looking to increase lean muscle mass, why not put some into your shoulders and arms as well as your legs?

Best of luck!

Answer 5

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Answer 6

i think that you should slowly add a minute to your running each time, so from 5 mins of running go to six minutes with 4 minute breather then 7 minutes run with 3 minute breather etc see if you can build it up

Answer 7

Dear trill mill: consultant your medical doctor concerning this issue we do not want u to hurt yourself but walking on a trill mile is as good as taking a walk outside don't rush take your time call your doctor he knows best. good luck god bless